Month: March 2017

I’ve never really bothered to use Spotify because I was too lazy to migrate my ridiculous iTunes library worth 57 gigabytes—that’s about 16.7 days worth of music if you’re wondering. I knew Discover Weekly was a thing, but I’d rather get recommendations off someone or a post on Reddit than some kind of fixed algorithm.

But then again, it can’t be so bad right? Remember Genius? At least Discover Weekly is way better than Apple’s broken Genius playlists (Deadmau5 in a thrash metal playlist? Are you kidding me?).

I’m surprised that there isn’t much pop-punk or metal on this playlist; maybe it’s because I’ve been taking a break off my usual circle of genres recently. In all seriousness, I have to say that Spotify’s suggestions aren’t so bad; I’m actually pretty satisfied with this one.

First off, what a name. I’ve never heard of these guys, but this song is very interesting. The song starts out with a pop-punky buildup and a funky guitar riff, but the mood changes when the screams kick in. Dananananaykroyd is an indie pop and post-hardcore band from Glasgow, Scotland, and this track really captures that sound well. The song definitely has more of a post-hardcore edge to it. It’s pretty weird but I dig it.

The opening guitar riff hooked me real fast, and I knew I was going stay after the drums and the vocals kicked in. This song is quite reminiscent of Two Door Cinema Club’s sound in Tourist History, specifically the magical combination of chill vibes and upbeat drums. Toward the end, the song breaks into a slower beat, calmly ending the song with an emo-like atmosphere. In all honesty though, I think this song might be staying in my library.

Another wacky band name. Great, Spotify is actually making me discover new artists. As I started listening to this song, I thought Vasudeva would either be a post-hardcore or an emo revival band. Regarding the fact that they are touring with Dance Gavin Dance, I was close, but apparently they are an instrumental dance-rock band.

“In Lieu of Youth” is one of those songs that really touches you, but you don’t know why. It’s just that this song is both emotionally and musically appealing to me, and that’s the best I can really describe in words. Although I hate using the word “perfect,” I might just have to say it this time. Ranging from the instrumentation to the production quality, this song could be perhaps, perfect.

Spotify, you’re doing pretty good so far with the suggestions. Keep it up. This is another enjoyable song, although it’s a bit generic. This song reminds me of Bayside’s older stuff, especially the vocals. The vocals also sound a little like Thursday’s Geoff Rickly when he was at his prime. The opening chord progression and guitar instrumentation is nothing special, but along with the chorus, it is pretty damn catchy. Decent song, nonetheless.

I think my R.A. likes this band, and I now know why. “Problems” is one of those songs that you wish was longer. I guess it’s short and sweet. I really dig the song, mainly due to acoustic guitar and the subtle vocal harmonies, but also because it is super soothing. I also hear somewhat of a Beatles influence to this song, but maybe it’s just me.

Ah, gotta love MoBo. Although I’m a huge fan of You’re Gonna Miss It All, I haven’t bothered to listen to Holy Ghost. I’ve seen this track appear multiple times on my YouTube suggestions, but here I am finally listening to it.

I don’t know why I never got around listening to this album, but “Wedding Singer” is actually pretty good. I really like the main guitar riff; it has a cute melody and a nostalgic touch to it. There’s not much to say about this song. It’s a typical Modern Baseball track—sad lyrics, catchy minimalist instrumentals and Jake Ewald’s dull singing. I think I’ll be checking out Holy Ghost after I put this song on repeat for a while.

Tiny Moving Parts is one of those bands I would always see on post-hardcore and emo subreddits, but I’ve never really understood the hype. After listening to “Always Focused” a few times, I was still not very impressed. To me, this song sounded pretty average. “Always Focused” has the most plays on Spotify, so it’s definitely saying something. But knowing that they are pretty big in the scene, I might dig deeper into their discography to find the real deal.

I’m guessing that this song was on my playlist because of Panucci’s Pizza. 30 seconds in the song, I’m getting an impression that Glocca Mora is like a polished version of Midwest Pen Pals or a band like Marietta. I think it tends to fall into emo and post-hardcore clichés, but the song isn’t too bad. Having that said, I’ll probably look into their music.

I get it Spotify. Your suggestions are pretty good, but now you’re just throwing me some emo revival bands. Dads is another band I frequently started to see on Reddit. However, this track is nothing special. It’s literally your average emo revival track—a recurring twinkly guitar riff accompanied by a somewhat catchy chorus and a half-assed bridge. Aside from all of this, I dig the vocals, though.

I’m not a huge fan of this band, but I used to listen to a few songs by them. “Goodnight” feels like one of those “feel-good” songs. Starting out slowly with a sweet guitar tune, the song builds up to a satisfying chorus. Although the singer’s vocal timbre doesn’t sound so melodic, it fits the overall mood of the song (kind of like Modern Baseball in this case). After a few listens, I gave in. I hit the plus button to save this to my Spotify library.